New 75 gallon planted

Zdei

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Jun 16, 2016
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Hey all, I've started my first planted tank in my 75 gallon. I'm looking for help with low tech foreground and mid ground plants. No co2 I currently have natural pea gravel as a substrate nothing else I dose leaf zone once a week and my lighting is the stock led bar from marineland but I also have a hood with a florecent light strip from my old 45 that I'm using with that. I want to eventually switch to ecocomplete if that will help. Any ideas are welcome image.jpeg
 
pygmy chain sword (Echinodorus tenellus was what it is called) can work in low tech for foreground. Dwarf saggitaria is variable in height depending on how crowded it is and tends to be a little taller than the chain sword to begin with. Either will grow in low tech without much fuss. Those two are what are readily available, if you want more options such as some of the following foreground plants you would need to find a club, or buy from an individual over the internet. Aquabid is one site to do so.
I understand buces do not grow very tall, but at this point they are still relatively new and prices reflect that. Cryptocoryn parva may be available at a store, but as slow growing as they are you'd be paying a lot or waiting a long while for it to grow in unless you found a hobbyist offloading a lot for cheap. Marsilea is another easy one. Eleocharis acicularis is easy to grow, but can take attention to keep it from collecting junk.

For mid ground many cryptocoryns are useful, with wendtii being choice. Be aware some cryptocoryns get very tall so selection and placement should reflect growth habit. With some maintenance most stem plants can be trimmed to keep them in midground height. Not all stem plants are easy to grow so some research or trial and error may be needed. ;) Depending on placement the various mosses can be used in either foreground or midground. If used in foreground you can tie them to a small flat stone so you can pull that out and trim as needed to keep the look.

Unless you get a specific cultivar of sword plant that grows to a small size I'd stay away from them unless you want something to take up half your tank. That look can be spectacular but needs to be planned for.


If you want a full carpet coverage of plantings you may have to feed your plants because that much plant coverage has more nutrient needs than typically supplied by fish waste and water changes.
 
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Update. I finally pulled that Anubis out of the pot and spread it around that helped a lot. Snakeice thanks for all of your input I will look into those. I just ordered some flourish thoughts on that?
 
If you just want some low greenery, you can try anubias "nana petite" or, like SnakeIce suggested, moss; both tied to rocks. Pea gravel is hard to plant IME, it's so big & heavy. Crypts can grow in it but roots may be damaged at first (crypt leaves often "melt" when new but don't worry, they should regrow if roots are healthy). In low ferts, low-med light, my wendtii are fairly low, 3-5 inches, & some are red(ish) or maroon, a nice contrast, I love crypts!

If you do switch Eco, you might try glossostigma, or again as SI said, marislea. But both are pretty slow growing without regular ferts & moderate light. Dwarf sag seems to grow too big if in the foreground or too short if mid IME. Don't expect a " full dense carpet" whichever you choose in a low tech tank. I go for a nice clump in a few areas at most & I am happy with that.

If you want a large bushy fine leaved plant for the back right, I'd suggest watersprite. It's easy in lowish light but it's a fern, so while it's roots can be planted in gravel the "crown" (where roots & leaves join) needs to be above the substrate a tiny bit. I love mine in a 75g but not for a much smaller tank, it's BIG!

You have a nice start... but it seems like either your stems are struggling or just really new. Might be slightly crushed at the bottom (again, pea gravel is hard to plant) or a little starved for ferts &/or light. If it continues to looks sparse at the bottom even after you trim & replant the "good" tops you may want to adjust them, your ferts or their placement so they get the best light available.
 
Awesome. Thank you for your input. As for those "stemy" plants in my tank, I bought them like that from LFS and was told it is water wisteria. All the images of water wisteria tells me otherwise so I am not sure what it is but seems to be growing up. I could use some help with proper identification and would like to trim off the good part and replant.
Lots of low spread out plants is what I want to go for not so much as carpeting. I would love to see your crypts if you have pictures the red contrast would be nice. Thanks again
 
Pics are not my hobby, sorry, I don't have any. But google cryptocoryne wendtii "red" or "mi oya" (or brown or bronze) to see what they "can" look like, there are thousands of crypt species & varieties.

As to your "wisteria"...does it have small spiky (pointed) edges on the leaves? I couldn't see them in your pics. That may be the emersed leaf form (they are usually grown with the leaves grown out of the water, it's often faster to grow that way) But the submersed growth (underwater) is very different...in many ways like watersprite...but 1 is a fern (sprite) & 1 a stem plant (wisteria). Confusing I know...
 
Zdei, I see you haven't responded to this thread in awhile, but I don't think the lighting you have over that 75g will support much other than java fern, java moss or anubia. Not necessarily a bad thing. Those are nice plants too!
 
I know! Lighting isn't too great I've been looking around online but can't decide which fixture is best. Any recommendations?
 
I know! Lighting isn't too great I've been looking around online but can't decide which fixture is best. Any recommendations?

I'm in the same boat. I don't keep live plants in my 75g, so I have a cheap 48" eBay 10000K color/temp LED over that tank. It's been great. On my 55g w/ plants, I have an Odyssea 48" T5HO and just run one lamp in it. Had that fixture for years now. There's soooooo many choices in terms of LEDs now. I had horrible luck with a BeamsWork 48" 6500K LED. Wound up tossing it because of loosing LEDs, flickering, etc.. Waiting it out a bit yet. I love old school T8 and T5 fixtures, just hate having to pay for new lamps every year because of the way they loose their PAR output and their color/temp range changes.
 
I know! Lighting isn't too great I've been looking around online but can't decide which fixture is best. Any recommendations?

I'm in the same boat. I don't keep live plants in my 75g, so I have a cheap 48" eBay 10000K color/temp LED over that tank. It's been great. On my 55g w/ plants, I have an Odyssea 48" T5HO and just run one lamp in it. Had that fixture for years now. There's soooooo many choices in terms of LEDs now. I had horrible luck with a BeamsWork 48" 6500K LED. Wound up tossing it because of loosing LEDs, flickering, etc.. Waiting it out a bit yet. I love old school T8 and T5 fixtures, just hate having to pay for new lamps every year because of the way they loose their PAR output and their color/temp range changes.
 
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